Group 4’s bid to advance women’s rugby league has received a major blow after the women's nines competition was cancelled due to “disappointing” player registrations.
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The fledgling competition was due to start at Werris Creek on Friday, but on Wednesday Group 4 announced it had been scrapped after only 24 players registered.
Four teams – Gunnedah, Werris Creek, South West Robins and Bendemeer – were scheduled to contest three rounds.
Group 4 chairman Ray McCoy said: “Without being disrespectful, the players have had enough time to get on board and we’re disappointed the numbers weren't there.”
There has been criticism of the registration process, which involved players registering themselves via a link
McCoy said: “The due process is you need to register through the link, money is to be received and move on from there. It’s a learning curve.”
Group 4 are in the process of scheduling trials for the representative women’s tackle team.
McCoy said the trials may run alongside the under-23 men’s trials but the dates would be confirmed after discussions at Group 4’s annual general meeting on November 4.
Gunnedah Bulldogs women’s coach Bob Price has been left disappointed by the cancellation of the competition.
Price said Gunnedah had 16 players interested in playing and that “10 to 14” had registered.
Price said the registration process had proved to be a barrier.
“I think Group 4 tried, and we tried to get a team and other clubs tried to get teams together,” he said.
“The trouble we had, I think, is registering the girls,” he added. “They had to register and pay up front.
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“I think if they had rego and then pay on the night, it might have worked better.
“I had so much interest in Gunnedah but not everyone’s got a credit card and can pay online or have the cash up front.”
Price would like to see a women’s rugby league competition launched in 2019 as part of Group 4’s season-long competitions.
“We’ve got until April 4 or 5 before the season starts. Let’s put something in place now. Get the ball rolling,” he said.
McCoy said that was unlikely to happen.
Last month, the Country Rugby League announced that 11 women’s nines competitions, including Group 4’s, would be held in regional NSW this year – hailing the “high growth” in the number of women players.
